Doing Business 215Fishing
One of the most dynamic sectors of the Chilean economy
has been the fishing industry. Due to the cold waters of
the Pacific Ocean coming up from Antarctica, Chile is
an optimal place for a wide variety of fish and seafood.
The development of salmon farms has been especially
impressive. Chile began exporting salmon in 1984 and
in only 10 years rose to be the second largest exporter of
salmon in the world behind Norway. Other products include
trout, hake, cod, conger eel, sea bass, swordfish, abalone,
sea urchin, scallops, octopus, shrimp and crabs. Chile is also
the largest exporter of fishmeal in the world.
Energy
One area of concern is the energy sector. Chile urgently
needs to expand the availability of energy sources in
order to be able to continue fueling the expansion of the
economy. The country depends heavily on hydroelectric
energy because it produces small amounts of oil and gas.
The importation of natural gas has been only partially
successful. Other options, such as geothermal and solar
energy or a revival of the coal industry will probably have
to be considered. There is strong opposition to the use of
nuclear energy.
Foreign Investment
Chile receives the highest level of foreign investment as a
percentage of GDP in all of Latin America. Top investors are the
US, Canada, Finland, the United Kingdom, Japan, Spain and
Australia. The main beneficiary of foreign capital is the mining
sector. The infrastructure, energy, telecommunications and
forestry industries also receive significant amounts of foreign
capital. Some foreign businesses undertake a public works
project as a concession, and recoup their investment through
user fees collected during the length of the contract.
Many multinational corporations choose to set up their
Latin American headquarters in Santiago because of low
costs, a highly educated workforce, high quality infrastruc-
ture, transparency in the regulatory system and expertise